Environmental Setting and Natural Factors and Human Influences Affecting Water Quality in the White River Basin, Indiana
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U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Environmental Setting and Natural Factors and Human Influences Affecting Water Quality in the White River Basin, Indiana Water-Resources Investigations Report 97-4260 White River Basin National Water-Quality Assessment Study Unit National Water-Quality Assessment Program science foruses a changing world U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Environmental Setting and Natural Factors and Human Influences Affecting Water Quality in the White River Basin, Indiana By Douglas J. Schnoebelen, Joseph M. Fenelon, Nancy I Baker, Jeffrey D. Martin, E. Randall Bayless, David V. Jacques, and Charles G. Crawford National Water-Quality Assessment Program Water-Resources Investigations Report 97-4260 Indianapolis, Indiana 1999 U.S. Department of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Charles G. Groat, Director The use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. For additional information, write to: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Division 5957 Lakeside Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46278-1996 Copies of this report can be purchased from: U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Information Services Box 25286 Federal Center Denver, CO 80225-0286 Information regarding the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is available on the Internet via the World Wide Web. You can connect to the NAWQA Home Page using the Universal Resource Locator (URL) at: <URL:http://wwwrvares.er.usgs.gov/nawqa/nawqa_home.html> Foreword The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey Describe how water quality is changing over (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the time. earth resources of the Nation and to provide informa Improve understanding of the primary natural tion that will assist resource managers and policymak- and human factors that affect water-quality ers at Federal, State, and local levels in making sound conditions. decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and This information will help support the development trends is an important part of this overall mission. and evaluation of management, regulatory, and moni One of the greatest challenges faced by water- toring decisions by other Federal, State, and local resources scientists is acquiring reliable information agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources. that will guide the use and protection of the Nation's The goals of the NAWQA Program are being water resources. That challenge is being addressed by achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resource of 59 of the Nation's most important river basins and agencies and by many academic institutions. These aquifer systems, which are referred to as Study Units. organizations are collecting water-quality data for a These Study Units are distributed throughout the host of purposes that include: compliance with permits Nation and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic set and water-supply standards; development of remedia tings. More than two-thirds of the Nation's freshwater tion plans for specific contamination problems; opera use occurs within the 59 Study Units and more than tional decisions on industrial, wastewater, or water- two-thirds of the people served by public water-supply supply facilities; and research on factors that affect systems live within their boundaries. water quality. An additional need for water-quality National synthesis of data analysis, based on information is to provide a basis on which regional- aggregation of comparable information obtained from and national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise the Study Units, is a major component of the program. decisions must be based on sound information. As a This effort focuses on selected water-quality topics society we need to know whether certain types of using nationally consistent information. Comparative water-quality problems are isolated or ubiquitous, studies will explain differences and similarities in whether there are significant differences in conditions observed water-quality conditions among study areas among regions, whether the conditions are changing and will identify changes and trends and their causes. over time, and why these conditions change from The first topics addressed by the national synthesis are place to place and over time. The information can be pesticides, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and used to help determine the efficacy of existing water- aquatic biology. Discussions on these and other water- quality policies and to help analysts determine the quality topics will be published in periodic summaries need for and likely consequences of new policies. of the quality of the Nation's ground and surface water To address these needs, the U.S. Congress appropri as the information becomes available. ated funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot pro This report is an element of the comprehensive gram in seven project areas to develop and refine the body of information developed as part of the NAWQA National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Pro Program. The program depends heavily on the advice, gram. In 1991, the USGS began full implementation of cooperation, and information from many Federal, the program. The NAWQA Program builds upon an State, interstate, Tribal, and local agencies and the existing base of water-quality studies of the USGS, as public. The assistance and suggestions of all are well as those of other Federal, State, and local agencies. greatly appreciated. The objectives of the NAWQA Program are to: Describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams, rivers, and aquifers. Robert M. Hirsch Chief Hydrologist Contents Abstract ..................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................. 2 Background ............................................................................ 2 Purpose and Scope ....................................................................... 2 Acknowledgments ....................................................................... 2 Environmental Setting of the White River Basin: Natural Factors ....................................... 3 Climate ............................................................................... 3 Precipitation and Temperature ......................................................... 3 Precipitation Quality ................................................................ 3 Geology ............................................................................... 8 Physiography ........................................................................... 8 Soils .................................................................................. 14 Hydrology ............................................................................. 14 Surface Water ..................................................................... 14 Characteristics of Streamflow .................................................... 16 Floods and Droughts ........................................................... 22 Surface-Water Quality ......................................................... 22 Ground Water ..................................................................... 33 Glaciofluvial Aquifers ......................................................... 33 Till Aquifers ................................................................. 34 Silurian and Devonian Carbonate Aquifers ......................................... 34 Mississippian Carbonate Aquifer ................................................. 35 Minor Aquifers ............................................................... 35 Surface-Water and Ground-Water Interaction ............................................. 36 Environmental Setting of the White River Basin: Human Influences .................................... 36 Land Use .............................................................................. 37 Agriculture ........................................................................ 37 Forest ............................................................................ 37 Urban and Industry.................................................................. 37 Recreation and Reservoirs ............................................................ 40 Mines and Quarries ................................................................. 44 Waste-Disposal Practices ................................................................. 44 Agricultural Practices .................................................................... 48 WaterUse ............................................................................. 52 iv Environmental Setting and Natural Factors and Human Influences Affecting Water Quality, White River Basin, Indiana Contents Continued Hydrogeomorphic Regions of the White River Basin ................................................ 54 Till Plain .............................................................................. 54 Glacial Lowland......................................................................... 57 Bedrock Uplands ........................................................................ 57 Karst Plain ............................................................................. 58 Bedrock Lowland and Plain ................................................................ 58 Fluvial